Bandaged
by downwithmyship
Summary: Zombie AU: In a world infested with the undead, Gai saves Kakashi from certain death, and then insists on becoming partners. His newfound partner is mysterious and cold, hiding many secrets, but Gai is willing to learn-and to save Kakashi from more than just the demons that walk the planet. KakaGai, GaiKaka


**Chapter One**

Gai was much more thankful for summertime than he was winter. Winter was freezing cold, and even though it slowed—and sometimes even stopped—the undead from moving and attacking, it brought with it snow, sickness, and a near impossible hunt for rabbits or squirrels to eat. However, he could not help but to wish that the summer could be a little _less_ extreme. This heat was blistering. Even though he was wearing nothing but a green short-sleeved shirt with faded blue jeans (excluding the orange cloth he had wrapped around his waist), he could not cool down, and it was far too dangerous to wear anything less. The thick canopy overhead, however, provided a great amount of shade, and for that, he was beyond thankful. Also, he was grateful to whatever, if there was anything, watching over him that he had failed to yet run into any of the undead so far today. After dealing with those creatures for nearly a decade, if not more so—he'd lost track of time quite easily, and wasn't exactly sure of the year; though, if he had to guess, the month was July—he had become easily accustomed to dealing with them, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy his days where he only saw a few stragglers every now and then. Sometimes, it even felt like the overall number of these zombies was dropping. The survivors, now, were hardened veterans of the war against the undead, and could hold their own against a dozen. The dead still far outnumbered the living, but, the living humans were no longer being led like sheep to the slaughter.

Speaking of his undead counterparts, Gai heard rustling not too far off from where he walked in the forest. Instinctively, he snatched up his knife, holding it in a defensive position as he looked around. Slowly, he began to move, wary of everything, now, until he could find them. He hadn't walked very far, maybe ten or fifteen footsteps' worth, before his eye caught sight of them. About seven in total were eagerly hobbling towards a tree, moaning and groaning so loudly they would probably attract other undead. Curious as to what had them so excited, Gai slunk in a wide circle, attempting to get a look at what was near that tree. A dead body usually did not get them so rowdy.

A figure, Gai saw, is what was sitting in front of the tree. It was very still, but nothing else that was dead could get a zombie so eager. What . . . ?

Moving ever closer, Gai's eyes widened when he realized it was a human sitting there. A living, breathing, perfectly able human, _sitting_ there and allowing certain death to stumble closer. Was this man mad?

Whoever he was wore nearly all black. He had black jeans, a blank tank top, a black leather jacket, and—a black bandana covering his lower face? That was odd. But, what caught Gai's eye most of all was the splash of silver hair against all the black cloth. That was extremely odd. Only old men had white hair, and all the old men Gai had seen had long died, not to mention, that man looked about his age.

What was most concerning of all was that the undead were drawing closer and closer to the silver-haired man, and he wasn't doing anything to prevent his demise. No matter the reasons he may have, Gai could simply not stand by and watch someone else willingly die, and by these beasts, no less!

Breaking into a dash, Gai dashed in and plunged his trusty knife deep into the skull of the zombie nearest the silver-haired man. "Quickly!" Gai exclaimed, spinning around. He grabbed the man's arm, and their eyes locked briefly. This man had only one eye, and it was dark, lifeless, as if he were a dead soul trapped in a living body. "You must come with me!" Gai insisted, and dragged the man, who seemed rather indifferent to anything, to his feet. The green-clad survivor refused to release the other's arm as he spun around and raced away, dragging the mysterious other behind him.

Once they were both far, far away, Gai and the other man slowed to a halt. Both were panting heavily, but, Gai noted happily that Mr. Silver Hair, once realizing he would not be let go, kept up quite easily. In fact, they seemed to be about equal in terms of stamina, even though Gai had a larger frame. His friend here was shorter by a few inches, and lanky, lean; though, Gai doubted he was to be underestimated.

"Why did you do that?" The silver-haired man's voice, surprisingly smooth despite their running, was what pulled Gai from his thoughts.

Gai furrowed his thick brows together, genuinely confused. "Why did I do what? Save you?" He asked. If anything, it should be _him_ asking the _stranger_ why he was just sitting there, waiting to die!

"What else would I be asking you about?" The other man replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets and gazing at Gai with one of the more bored looks in his eye. That lifelessness that Gai saw earlier . . . Had he mistaken it for simply boredom? Perhaps the other man was simply looking for a challenge. Nonetheless, what he had been doing was far too dangerous!

"You were going to be killed!" Gai protested. "I simply could not stand by and watch that! And so I rushed into action, pulling you to safety. And here we are."

The man's response shocked Gai: "You could have just walked away."

"I most certainly could not have!"

"If you say so," The other sighed, before turning on his heel and walking west.

"Wait!" The stranger stopped, turning his head. His sole eye widened a slight bit as he spotted Gai, bounding up beside him with a large grin. "I simply cannot leave you to be on your own when you were so nearly killed," The raven-haired man explained. "I will accompany you on your journey and protect you!"

"I don't need protection."

"Ha! That is what they all say!"

Sighing, again, the silver-haired man simply shrugged, defeated, and continued on his way with Gai at his heels.

"By the way," Gai chirped after a moment, "what is your name?"

The other man didn't bother to turn his head to look at Gai when he was asked the question. Gai, obviously, was very confused for a long minute until the stranger suddenly looked over at him, and asked, "Did you say something?"

Marveling, Gai thought that his new-found, nameless companion was very, very cool.


End file.
